Rep. Kinzinger calls for U.S. air strikes in Iraq

Rep. Kinzinger calls for U.S. air strikes. (Posted June 12, 2014)

Rep. Kinzinger calls for U.S. air strikes. (Posted June 12, 2014)

Katherine SkibaTribune reporter

WASHINGTON — Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a military pilot who has served in Iraq, today called for U.S. air and drone strikes targeting the Sunni Islamist rebels who have taken over cities in northern Iraq.

Kinzinger, 36, a Republican from Channahon, is a major in the Air National Guard who has completed missions in Afghanistan. He entered Congress in 2011 and serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

He said in a statement that it was “absolutely heartbreaking” to see “cities that American troops fought so hard for fall into the hands of terrorists.”

He singled out the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for seizing control of Mosul and Tikrit.

Warning that the militant group’s next target is Baghdad, Kinzinger said if Iraq’s capital falls “these extremists will have a foothold from which to promote the growth of terrorism across the entire Middle East.”

“It is time for President Obama to order air and drone strikes against (ISIL) forces, and deploy special operations teams to work with our Iraqi allies to strategically strike the enemy where they are most vulnerable,” he said. “The president has missed this opportunity before, and it is time he learns from his mistakes before it is too late.”

While Kinzinger called for attacks by air, his statement said he does not in favor the deployment of U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq.

Kinzinger called for U.S. military support in Iraq in January after Fallujah fell, saying then: “It is not too late to reverse the tragic foreign policy consequences what we’ve seen in the Middle East.” He called for immediate action then, saying: “The blood of Americans have sacrificed for a free Iraq and a free Afghanistan — we cannot let that sacrifice be in vain.”